You have the will to lead and succeed in your career, you’re blessed with beautiful children but you only have 24 hours in a day, a pair of hands and feet.

Your day is packed as you try to balance between your professional and personal life. By the end of the day, you’re feeling drained and wondering, where did your day, week or even month go? Have you done enough for your children?

A large number of working parents from the fast developing countries in South East Asia find it difficult to balance between professional and personal life. Hence, eventually feeling guilty that you’re not giving ‘enough’ to either parties.

Juggling between responsibilities can be frustrating especially when you feel like you’ve failed. You’ll feel like the worst parent or employee in the world but hey, even the best jugglers drop the ball once in awhile. So, don’t be too hard on yourself if you’ve not been able to juggle all your responsibilities well every single day.

Sometimes, all you’ll need is a gentle reminder to guide you. If successful entrepreneurs and CEOs who are also parents, can juggle between professional and personal life, so can you! So, here are some tips on how to master the act of balancing as a working parent :

Tip 1 : Stop With The Ego

Raising a child is not as easy as 1-2-3 and so, what more if you’re planning on raising your children without help while maintaining your professional career. It’s true that it takes a whole village to raise a child. So, don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed.

If your egoistic self is telling you that you can do it because you’re a “super parent”, take a step back and gather yourself. Remember, humility is a huge key to success. Hence, being humble even when it comes to being a parent can bring you a long way.

You do not need to ask for huge favours like asking someone to help with babysitting your child every single day. It could be getting help for simple tasks such as asking a parent’s help to send your child to school or a neighbour to cook lunch occasionally if you’re packed with back-to-back meetings can do wonders in helping you manage your day better.

Tip 2 : Jump Past The Guilt Hurdle

Every parent would hope to stay at home with his or her children instead of going off to work. However, in the real world it is not an option in most households for either parent to stay at home.

Working parents tend to feel guilty as you feel as if you’re not doing enough to fulfill the needs of your child. If this is you, perhaps you could look at this situation from another perspective. By you choosing to work, this your way of showing that you’re a responsible parent and cater to your child’s needs.

Don’t allow guilt to get in the way and affect your responsibility and confidence as a parent. Jump past this hurdle and enjoy life as a working parent. Once you’ve looked past the guilt, you’ll realize that your choice of working is only because you would like to provide the best for your child.

Tip 3 : Don’t Forget About Yourself

It’s easy to get yourself buried under the rubble of responsibilities. However, successful parents will not allow this to happen. This is because taking care of yourself helps with efficiency and productivity. Hence, it is only when you take good care of yourself that you’re able to give.

So, don’t neglect yourself as an individual. It’s not wrong if you require some ‘Me Time’ or if you head out for a weekly massage session. Speak to your spouse as well about how you can work together to ensure that the wellbeing of both of you are well taken care of as that will allow you to be happy parents.

Tip 4 : Make Use Of The Digital World

Thank God for Technology! A blessing every working modern day parent should be thankful for is the digital world! Though, not only because of movie streaming sites or games that keep your kids still while you’re able to get work done.

With the digital world, you’re able to complete tasks in just a click. That includes getting your groceries, feeding your children and even paying your bills. Hence, making it easier for you to juggle between your tasks.

There’s just about an online platform for every chore now and no, you’re not a lazy parent if you decide to make use of these platforms. So, plan wisely by incorporating these into your plans and save yourself a few hours in a day that could be put to other great use.

Tip 5 : Don’t Bring Work Home

Learn to draw the line between work and personal life. Once you’ve completed your day at work, head back and leave all work issues out of your home. This includes avoiding checking your emails. Let’s face it, they’re never ending and can wait for the next day!

After all, you’re doing justice to the life of the other party too by not replying that email as that gives the person the opportunity to stop working and focus on other tasks for that day.

Also, don’t feel like you’ve to divide an equal time for work and your personal life each day. For example, fixing 8 hours of work and 8 hours of time spent at home despite how your day goes. There will be days that will require more time for you to be at home and there will be days where you’ll need to spend extra hours in the office. So, be flexible with your timing as a parent but never forget to draw the line to it when you’re in the respective ‘zones’.

It is possible for you to be a successful parent, while raising your child with quality. There are many sacrifices that you’ll be making but never feel guilty because at the end of the day, your child is the centre of it all. Your decision to work and make ends meet is a responsible and loving approach to raising your child. Communicating and taking the opportunity to spend time with your child while minimising any distraction is one great way of creating memories with your child.